by Mark R. Millikin

Baltimore had known great baseball as a major league city at the turn of the nineteenth century before losing their franchise in 1901 to New York, a team that later became the Yankees. Although Baltimore had some great minor league teams, the city was still considered as a minor league city, even when it returned to the majors in 1954. In 1966, all it needed was a sparkplug to ignite the team and that arrived in the person of Frank Robinson.

The team, under manager Hank Bauer, set off on a torrid pace, surprising the rest of the American League, and won the pennant going away. The Baltimore fans were believers from opening day but it was a surprise to them when the Orioles swept the odds-on favorite, Los Angeles Dodgers in four games to win the World Series. How the team did it and its effect on the fans of Baltimore is the story that Mark Millikin recounts.